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NGO Coalition Appeals WaterUse Licence Granted to CoAL

Written by: 2011/07/2912:00:00 AM

The coalition of civil society organisations that has opposed the proposed Vele

colliery ofLimpopo Coal Company (Pty) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian miningcompany Coal of Africa Limited, will today lodge an appeal with the Water Tribunal againstthe water use licence granted to Limpopo Coal for its proposed Vele colliery by ActingDirector-General of the Department of Water Affairs (DWA), Mr Trevor Balzer, on 29March 2011.

The coalition of civil society organisations that has opposed the proposed Vele colliery ofLimpopo Coal Company (Pty) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Australian miningcompany Coal of Africa Limited, will today lodge an appeal with the Water Tribunal againstthe water use licence granted to Limpopo Coal for its proposed Vele colliery by the ActingDirector-General of the Department of Water Affairs (DWA), Mr Trevor Balzer, on 29March 2011.

The Coalition in this appeal consists of the Mapungubwe Action Group, the EndangeredWidlife Trust, the Wilderness Foundation, BirdLife South Africa, the Association ofSouthern African Professional Archaeologists and the Peace Parks Foundation.

The proposed opencast colliery would be situated in close proximity to the MapungubweNational Park and World Heritage Site in northern Limpopo, which forms part of theproposed transfrontier conservation park between South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Since it first became aware of the mining right awarded to Limpopo Coal at this importantsite, the Coalition has also:



lodged appeals against the mining right and environmental management programmefor the Vele

colliery approved by the Department of Mineral Resources in 2010;



in August 2010, launched interdict proceedings against Limpopo Coal and theMinister of Mineral Resources, which application must still be heard in the HighCourt;



opposed applications byLimpopo Coal to the Department of Environmental Affairsfor rectification of illegal activities at the site. On 25 July 2011, the Coalition filed itsnotice of intention to appeal the environmental authorisation granted by theDepartment of Environmental Affairs on 5 July 2011, rectifying the illegal activitiesundertaken by Limpopo Coal in 2010.

The water use licence granted on 29 March 2011 gave Limpopo Coal the right, amongst otherthings, to:



abstract more than 2,4 billion litres of water per year (2 452 800 m3/annum) from theLimpopo alluvial aquifer based on an average of more than 6,7 million litres per day(6 720 m3 per day);



do opencast dewatering (i.e. pumping contaminated water from teh opencast pit) to amaximum quantify of 109 million litres per

year (109 500 m3 per annum);



irrigate land with waste, or water containing waste and dispose of waste into variousfacilities;



impede or divert the flow of water in a watercourse by constructing access roadculverts in an unnamed tributary of the LimpopoRiver; and



alter the bed, banks, course or characteristic of a watercourse by construction of threepipeline crossings.

The Coalition's appeal to the Water Tribunal is based on 17 separate grounds of appeal, asummary of which is attached hereto. Notable grounds of appeal include:



The DWA based its decision on a reserve determination which relied on inaccurate,apartheid-era population data from 1991. The DWA assumed that only 495 peoplerequired water for basic human needs from the particular subcatchment,

when in factthere are thousands of people living in the area. In terms of the National Water Act,the reserve must be determined for each licence to ensure that enough water is keptaside for people's basic human needs, and to maintain the ecological integrity of thewater resource.



The DWA ignored the precepts and recommendations of its own strategic documents,such as the National Water Resource Strategy and the Limpopo Internal StrategicPerspective, both of which contain strict warnings about the water-stressed nature ofthis particular catchment and advise against the issuing of new water use licences inthe area.



The proposed use of water by Limpopo Coal would not be efficient or beneficial,since its proposed "closed system" for contaminated water management makes noeffort to treat or to conserve water and still poses risks of contamination ofgroundwater. Instead of treating contaminated water and putting it back into the waterresource, this "closed system" would remove precious water from the water resourcewithout returning it for others to use.



The proposed use of water by Limpopo Coal would not be in the public interest,particularly since Limpopo Coal has a history of non-compliance with the NationalWater Act and other environmental legislation.



The proposed mining operation would be far closer to the Limpopo River than isstated in the water use licence application and in the licence itself.



Inadequate assessment of the risks of acid mine drainage and acid rock drainage hadnot been remediedby Limpopo Coal by the time the licence was awarded.



The DWA

did not give adequate consideration to the opinions of other authoritieswho had expressed grave concerns about the proposed colliery.



The potential socio-economic benefits of the proposed colliery have been overstatedby Limpopo Coal.



The DWA failed to consider the impact of the colliery's proposed water use onclimate change, water security and food security.

The Coalition will file further papers in the appeal once written reasons for the decision, aswell as the full record of decision, have been made available by the DWA.

In terms of the National Water Act, lodging the appeal with the Water Tribunal has the effectof immediately suspending the decision by the DWA

to award the licence to Limpopo Coaluntil a decision has been made by the Water Tribunal.

A copy of the appeal can be downloaded later today on the following websites: